Andre Chiefs

Lexington, MA- The Chiefs came home from Lexington with a healthy dose of frustration in their bags, as well as their first loss in eight games, in a tough to digest 2-1 defeat to the three time defending Blue Sox on Monday.

On most nights when a team has ten hits, 14 base runners, and receives outstanding pitching that allows just one earned run, you could assume that the check would safely go into the win column. Such was not the case for the Chiefs on this night in the initial meeting of the season between the 2009 & 2011 championship series participants that was eventually decided by a bad hop fifth inning single.

Chiefs’ starter Mike DiCato (0-1) and Blue Sox ace Matt Karis (3-0) bobbed and weaved their way throughout the evening with both righties landing squarely on their feet after escaping some major league jams.

Karis was the first to escape in the top of the first inning, pitching out of a one out bases loaded situation. After Karis got Jeff Bercume to bounce out, Hal Landers reached on an infield error. Juan Portes and Peter Copa followed with consecutive singles before Mike Baillargeon grounded into a 6 unassisted-3 doubleplay (Steve Gath to Jason Twomley).

Ross Curley led off the Blue Sox first with single but DiCato got Justin Wright on a grounder to first, Gath to pop up and struck out Jeff Vigurs to end the inning.

Mike Andre singled to left center to start the Chiefs’ second but Karis proved once again why he has posted a 29-2 record in his last 31 decisions (both losses against the Chiefs) when he struck out the next three batters (Tim Quinn, Brendan Pyburn & Nate Witkowski) in succession to end the inning.

The Blue Sox appeared poised to take the lead in the bottom of the second. Twomley led off with a long triple to right-center but was thrown out at the plate by Nate Witkowski when he tried to score on Chris Sintetos’ infield grounder.

The Chiefs put two more runners on in the top of the third inning with Landers again reaching on an infield error and Portes drawing a walk. Karis (pictured left) got out of this one when Copa hit the hardest ball of the night, a line shot that was tracked down in deep center by Jack Laurendeau, and by striking out Baillargeon.

The Sox broke through for an unearned run against DiCato in the bottom of the third. Laurendeau flied to Landers for the first out before Curley reached on a two base throwing error by Witkowski. Consecutive singles from Wright and Gath plated Curley with the first run of the game. DiCato averted further damage when he got Vigurs to hit into a 4-6-3 (Pyburn to Baillargeon to Copa) doubleplay.

The Chiefs managed to tie things up in the top of the fourth but threatened for much more. Andre led off with his second consecutive single, a liner to right center. Quinn was next and the big catcher from Assumption drilled a single to left with Andre moving to second. Pyburn followed with a perfect bunt single that stayed fair after rolling all the way to the third base bag putting the Chiefs in business with the bases loaded with nobody out. Witkowski then hit a liner that appeared headed up the middle for two run single. Not so on this night as Wright made an outstanding grab and in stride turned it into a 4-unassisted doubleplay. The Chiefs did salvage a run out of the inning when Bercume singled to score Andre, tying the game at 1-1. Karis then got Landers to fly to left to leave two more men stranded.

DiCato worked a 1-2-3 fourth and the Chiefs left two more aboard in the top of the fifth. Copa reached on a one out infield error and Baillargeon beat out a bunt single. Karis got tough once again and struck out Andre swinging and then got Quinn to fly to deep center to end the inning.

The Blue Sox won the game in the fifth. After two were out, singles by Curley and Wright put runners on the corners. The winning run came on Gath’s bad hop single to left-center that hit the infield lip and bounced high over Baillargeon’s head, scoring Curley.

Bercume’s two out single gave the Chiefs another baserunner in the top of the sixth. Karis got tough when he had to be once again and got Landers to ground out end the inning.

DiCato retired the Sox in order again in the bottom of the sixth inning including two K’s.

The Chiefs made one more run at Karis in the top of the seventh. Portes led off with a sharp single to center but Copa grounded out, Baillargeon struck out looking and Andre grounded out to Curley to end the game.

Karis allowed ten hits, struck out eight and walked one. DiCato surrendered seven hits, struck out four and did not issue a walk. Both teams made an uncharacteristic three errors each.

Both teams are back in action on Wednesday with the Blue Sox hosting the Arlington Trojans at 8:00 PM and the Chiefs returning to Maplewood Park at Malden Catholic to meet the Mooney Dental Tanners at 7:45 PM.

Medford, MA- Jeff Bercume had three hits, including two home runs, and Juan Portes added a three run shot, to give the Chiefs a 14-4 win over the Americans on Sunday afternoon at Playstead Park.

The Chiefs rung out a dozen hits and jumped out to a 6-0 lead when they sent nine men to plate in the second inning. That was more than enough for starter Jared Freni (2-0-1) who went five innings to get the win.

After a scoreless first inning the Chiefs jumped on Medford starter Paul Pollano (1-1) in the visitor’s second. Nick Leva gave the Chiefs a 2-0 lead when he drove in Tim Quinn and Tony Deshler who had both walked. Singles by Bercume and Hal Landers, in his first game back from the D-3 College World Series with Wheaton, drove home Leva. Portes (pictured below) was next and he deposited a Pollano offering over the left field fence for a 6-0 lead.

The margin went to 7-0 in the fourth on Bercume’s solo homer to left-center.

The Americans cut into the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Mike DelPonte hit a two run homer off Freni, scoring Danny Gunn (single) ahead of him.

The Chiefs put the game away when they scored seven times in the top of the sixth inning to run the margin to 14-2. Bercume’s two run homer, pinch hitter Matt Boleski’s two RBI single, Quinn’s RBI double an RBI single from Mike Andre accounted for the Chiefs’ runs.

John Chotkowski came on to work the bottom of the sixth inning and gave up an RBI single to Gunn.

Western New England University's Dan Bonito of Swampscott worked the seventh and surrendered a solo homer to Joe Sheehan for the 14-4 final.

Freni pitched five innings, allowed four hits, struck out seven and walked three.

The Chiefs head to Lexington High School on Monday night to meet the Blue Sox at 8:00 PM in the first meeting of the season between the 2011 championship series teams.  Mike DiCato is expected to make his first start of the year for the Chiefs. The Blue Sox are expected to counter with ace righty Matt Karis.

Andre Chiefs 14, Medford Americans 4

		at Playstead Park, Medford  Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E Chiefs 0 6 0 1 0 7 0 14 12 1 Americans 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 4 7 3
W: J Freni (2-0), L: P Pollano (1-1)

Medford, MA- Veteran lefty Tim Dunphy tossed a complete game four-hitter to lead the Chiefs by the Testa Corp. Bombers 4-1 on Saturday afternoon at Tufts University.

Dunphy, who was 7-3 last season, picked up his first win of the 2012 campaign. The former Brandeis standout struck out 11 batters which is the most strikeouts in a game that he has had since coming onboard with the Chiefs in 2010. He allowed just one run and has not surrendered an earned run in 14.1 innings so far this season.

The Chiefs had to battle back from a 1-0 deficit in this one as Bombers starter Rob O’Neil kept the them off the scoreboard until they took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The Bombers broke a 0-0 tie in the top of third inning. Mark Addesa doubled to rightcenter with one away. Dunphy then got Devin Perry swinging for the second out. Dunphy’s former Cassell Club teammate Josh Klimkiewicz (Harvard) was next and he beat out an infield single to shortstop. When Mike Baillargeon’s throw to get Klimkiewicz was low and skipped a few feet away from Peter Copa at first base, Addesa kept running and scored on the error.

It stayed 1-0 until the Chiefs’ fifth.  Baillargeon got things going with a single. Juan Portes drew a walk before O’Neil got Copa to fly to deep center with Baillargeon tagging and going to third. Mike Andre followed with a single scoring Baillargeon to tie the game at 1-1. Tim Quinn was next and he delivered a bomb double to straight away center that scored Portes and Andre to give the Chiefs a 3-1 lead.

The Chiefs extended their lead to 4-1 in the sixth inning when Tony Deshler singled with one out and stole second. Portes followed with a line RBI single that scored Deshler on a close play at the plate.

Dunphy threw 101 pitches in his seven inning outing and walked only one.

Quinn, the former Assumption captain and former NECBL all-star, (pictured right) had a big day at the plate going 3-3. Portes, formerly of the Minnesota Twins, went 2-2 and reached base four times, which included a couple of walks and a long double off the base of the wall in left field in the third inning.

The Chiefs are right back in action on Sunday when they travel to Playstead Park in Medford to meet the Americans in a 1:30 PM matinee. The Bombers stay on the road and head to Wakefield to visit the Merchants in a 5:00 PM start.  

Sat, 16 June, 1:30PM, at Tufts University
Andre Chiefs 4, Testa Corp. Bombers 1

Pitching

Umpires- Home Plate: Don January, Bases-Jeff January

East Boston, MA- Matt DiCato made his debut a winning one, throwing 3.1 innings of two hit shutout baseball to get the Chiefs past the Testa Corp. Bombers 8-0 at East Boston Stadium on Thursday night. For the Chiefs pitching staff it was their fourth shutout in the first five games of the season.

After a scoreless first inning, the Chiefs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning courtesy of a Jeff Bercume grand slam to right-centerfield. Mike Andre got the inning started when he drew a walk off Testa starter Matt Pugh. Brendan Pyburn moved Andre up to second with a sacrifice bunt and Paul Yanakopulos drew the second walk of the inning. Catcher Nick Leva followed with a single to right to load the bases and set the stage for Bercume’s bases loaded laser.

Starter Rob Machado got the Bombers side in order in the bottom of the second and the Chiefs made it 5-0 in the top of the third. Former Assumption and NECBL standout Tim Quinn drew a walk and Andre singled to right. Pyburn followed with a RBI double to right scoring Quinn.

Machado surrendered a two out double to Matt O’Flynn in the bottom of the third and Pugh set the Chiefs down 1-2-3 in the top of the fourth.

DiCato (pictured left) came on to start the bottom of the fourth after Machado experienced some stiffness in his back between innings. The right-hander, who was 7-3 this spring at Framingham State and the younger brother of Mike DiCato, took immediate control getting the side in order and striking out two in his first inning as a Chief.

Brendan Pyburn

The Chiefs loaded the bases in the fifth when Quinn drew a walk and Andre and Pyburn followed with consecutive singles. Reliever Ronnie Wallace (UMass-Amherst) kept it a 5-0 affair when he struck out pinch hitter Matt Boleski swinging and got Leva to line out to end the inning.

DiCato was solid again in the bottom of the fifth with two more K’s.

It went to 7-0 in the top of the sixth when Andre’s bases loaded two out, two RBI single to center plated Tony Deshler who had doubled and Juan Portes who had walked.

DICato worked his third straight scoreless inning in the bottom of the sixth despite giving up a two out triple to Devin Perry.

The Chiefs added their final run in the top of the seventh. Pinch hitter Rob Caggiano (Medford, MA, Babson) worked a walk and rookie Christian Veneziano of St. John’s Prep made his initial ICL appearance when he pinch ran. Veneziano went to second on a passed ball, to third when Bercume reached on an infield error and scored on a wild pitch.

Dan O’Flynn led off the Bombers’ seventh with a single and DiCato recorded his sixth K of the night before being lifted for rookie lefty John Chotkowski. The former Tewksbury ace faced two batters, allowing a single to Joe Barry before recording his first ICL strikeout. Another rookie lefty, Dan Bonito (Swampscott, MA/ Western New England) came on to strikeout the only batter he faced to end the game.

It was a big night at the plate for three former Merrimack College teammates as Bercume (2-4, 4 RBI), Andre (3-3, 2 RBI) and Pyburn (2-3, RBI) drove in all of the Chiefs runs.

The Chiefs are off on Friday before hosting the Bombers on Saturday at Tufts University at 1:30 PM.

East Boston MA-  The Chiefs will travel to East Boston Stadium, adjacent to Logan Airport, to meet the Testa Corp. Bombers on Thursday night at 8:00 PM.

Rob Machado, who is 1-0 on the season, is expected to be the starter for the Chiefs. The big right-hander threw a 77 pitch complete game shutout vs. Wakefield on Saturday. The former Malden Catholic and UMass-Amherst standout allowed just three hits while striking out seven.

Last season Machado went a deceptive 4-6 with an ERA of 2.85, striking out 69 batters in 61.1 innings of work. He recently moved into the top ten on the Chiefs all time appearnace list with 34.

Following Thursday's game the Chiefs and Bombers will meet again on Saturday afternoon at Tufts University at 1:30 PM.

Chiefs Notebook....Tufts University rookie Scott Staniewicz made his first start in Chiefs' uniform last Saturday vs. Wakefield. The infielder had an outstanding high school career at Spanish River High School in Boca Raton, FL....The Chiefs have added Tewksbury High ace John Chotkowski to the roster.  Chotkowski had an outstanding career for the Redmen which included three shutouts this past season. He will take his talents to the University of Alabama in the fall.....The Chiefs picked up former Malden Catholic star and current Bentley standout Nate Witkowski when the RHP-IF joined the club on Monday....